Stanford, CA, May 28, 2009 – Two weeks before President Lee Myung-bak’s first full-fledged summit meeting with President Barack Obama, Pantech Fellow alumni of Stanford University’s Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) will present their research findings on U.S.-South Korean relations and North Korea at a forum at the Seoul Press Center on June 2 from 2-5 P.M.

The public event, The United States and Korea: Toward a Shared Future, will feature Dr. Thomas Fingar, a Distinguished Lecturer at Stanford and the former U.S. Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis, who will deliver a keynote address on “The United States and Northeast Asia.” National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong O, American Ambassador Kathleen Stephens, and the Shorenstein APARC Director, Stanford University Professor Gi-Wook Shin, will offer congratulatory remarks.

Stanford Pantech Fellowships alumni will participate in two panels on U.S.-South Korean relations and North Korea. Scott Snyder, director of the Asia Foundation’s Center for U.S.-Korea Policy, will discuss his recent report, “Pursuing a Comprehensive Vision for the U.S.–South Korea Alliance.” David Straub, Korean Studies Program acting director at Shorenstein APARC, will review the work and findings of the “New Beginnings” policy research group on U.S.-South Korean relations. Donald Macintyre, Time Magazine’s first bureau chief in Seoul (2001-2006), will show how life in North Korea is changing at the grassroots level and what these changes mean for the international community's approach toward Pyongyang. Daniel Sneider, Shorenstein APARC associate director for research, will analyze North Korea as a peninsular, regional and global problem and discuss how it fits into the Obama administration’s overall foreign and security policy. The panels will be moderated by Seoul National University Professor Yoon Young-kwan, a former foreign minister, and Korea University Professor Hyug Baek Im.

The Pantech Group is a major supporter of the Korean Studies Program (KSP) at Stanford’s Shorenstein APARC and its programs of policy research on Korea and U.S.-Korean relations and the fostering of next-generation leaders in Korean affairs. Since the inception of the Pantech Fellowships for Mid-Career Professionals in 2004, nine experts on Korean policy affairs from government, journalism, and academia have each spent a year at Stanford’s Shorenstein APARC engaged in cutting-edge research.

The forum will be conducted in English. Interpretation will not be provided.
For further information, please contact Ms. Heather Ahn at hjahn@stanford.edu, phone: 1-650-724-8271.

David Straub, cting director of Shorenstein APARC's Korean Studies Program, spoke to Mike Shuster of NPR about the difficulties in inducing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions. After North Korea conducted its second test of a nuclear device over the weekend, Straub explained why China has not been as helpful in using its influence on North Korea as the United States government has hoped.

The Korean Studies Program at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) is pleased to announce that Peter M. Beck will join the Center for the 2009-2010 academic year.  Beck's research will be on the impact of foreign media in North Korea.  During his fellowship at the Center, he will hold seminars related to his research project and will be involved in various projects on Korea.

Beck teaches at American University in Washington, D.C. and Ewha University in Seoul.  He also writes a monthly column for Weekly Chosun and The Korea Herald.  Previously, he was the executive director of the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and directed the International Crisis Group’s Northeast Asia Project in Seoul.  He was also the Director of Research and Academic Affairs at the Korea Economic Institute in Washington. He has served as a member of the Ministry of Unification’s Policy Advisory Committee and as an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown and Yonsei universities.

He also has been a columnist for the Korean daily Donga Ilbo, an instructor at the University of California at San Diego, a translator for the Korea Foundation, and a staff assistant at Korea’s National Assembly and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has published over 100 academic and short articles, testified before Congress, and conducted interviews with the world’s leading media outlets. He received his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley, completed the Korean language program at Seoul National University, and conducted his graduate studies at U.C. San Diego’s Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies.   

Pantech Fellowships, generously funded by Pantech Co., Ltd., and Curitel Communications, Inc. (the "Pantech Group"), are intended to cultivate a diverse international community of scholars and professionals committed to and capable of grappling with challenges posed by developments in Korea. We invite individuals from the United States, Korea, and other countries to apply.